If there was any question before, there isn’t now: Tatiana Suarez is back.
Viewed as a future title contender during her rise to prominence in the UFC from 2016 to 2019, injuries halted Suarez’s momentum and sidelined her until earlier this year. The 32-year-old Millennia MMA representative has made up for lost time, earning submission wins over Montana De La Rosa and Jessica Andrade in 2023. The latter was especially impressive, as Suarez outclassed Andrade, a former 115-pound champion, in the UFC on ESPN 50 co-main event before winning via second-round guillotine choke at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night. Even before the finish arrived, Suarez was able to hold her own with Andrade during exchanges.
“I’m just really excited about this one, because I think a lot of people fear her on the feet. That’s where she has her most success, and of course, me, I decided to strike with her a lot more than I do in all my other fights,” Suarez said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
“If you watch my fights, I always get a takedown in the first minute of every fight I’ve ever had. I didn’t do that this fight. ... My game plan is whatever comes natural to me, and for some reason, it came natural to me. I felt like I had the better footwork. I felt like I had the better strikes, too. People told me, ‘Remember you’re the scary one. She’s feared, but so are you.’”
Of course, Suarez’s strength is her grappling, and while she outstruck Andrade, she also went 3-for-3 on takedowns before securing the fight-ending submission. It was something Suarez expected she would be able to do against her Brazilian opponent.
“I think where I shine, obviously, is I’m a very good grappler, and I think she turns her back and I have a lot of submissions — I have a tight squeeze,” Suarez said. “I can pull things off that a lot of women can’t because I have wrestled my whole entire life. I had a really good front headlock when I was wrestling and a lot of men tell me how tight my squeeze is. So I was I was happy that I could get a submission win – another guillotine on my record. I’m just really excited about it. I felt like I could submit her.”
Though the timeline is disjointed due to injury, Suarez owns a seven-fight winning streak in UFC competition. She believes she has earned the right to fight for a title, whether it’s at strawweight against the Weili Zhang-Amanda Lemos winner or at 125 pounds, where Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are set for a rematch on Sept. 16.
“I think I match up well against them,” Suarez said. “I think I match up well against everybody. I think I’m going to be a world champion. I think I’m the best in the world, and I’m going for that strap. So whatever they want to give me, I’ll make it happen. But I do believe that I deserve to fight for the title.”
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